HYDERABAD: In the last 10 years, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been unable to find monkey catchers to make the city free of the primates, it has been alleged. Though the corporation officials have been earmarking Rs 10 lakh every year for the purpose, only three monkeys were caught in the previous financial year. Officials asked the residents to gear up for havoc this summer with over 6,000 monkeys roaming around the city.
The civic body, which has no expertise in catching monkeys, has to depend on locals who use random methods to trap the animals. There have been several complaints of monkey menace from Padmaraonagar, East and West Marredpally, Alwal, Sanathnagar, Kapra, Motinagar, Ameerpet, Uppal, Tarnaka, Osmania University, LB Nagar and other areas of the city.
The civic body has floated tenders for contractors to catch monkeys in the six GHMC zones of Secunderabad, Khairatabad, Kukatpally, Serilingampally, Charminar and LB Nagar. The contractor is responsible for catching monkeys in the localities where complaints come from. However, nobody has come forward to take up the job.
According to sources, the veterinary wing officials have been discouraging money catchers by fixing the lowest price per monkey in the country. The corporation has fixed Rs 1,820 for catching each monkey while other metros are paying over Rs 5,000 per monkey. Sources said the monkeys which are caught should be left in Adilabad and other dense forest areas, far away from the city suburbs. The transportation charges have to be borne by the contractors whose bid is finalised.
As a preliminary measure, the corporation has fixed automatic monkey catching nets but over a span of 10 years, the corporation could only manage to catch three monkeys that too during the last year.
A senior GHMC official, requesting anonymity, told Deccan Chronicle that disappointed with the amount fixed by the corporation, a professional monkey catching family had left their job 10 years ago. He said since then the corporation had been inviting bids but none was ready to take up the project. The official said though the corporation had been flooded with monkey menace calls, the GHMC was in a helpless situation and asked locals to deal with the havoc created. He said that the corporation once again floated tenders to the tune of Rs 12 lakh and was waiting for the private agencies to take up the job.
